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So Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul has been elected to Congress, defeating Assemblywoman Jane Corwin and Jack Davis.

Beyond the obvious, who won and lost? My thoughts…

Winners:

Kirsten Gillibrand — The freshman senator was one of the first big-name Democrats to actively support Hochul, soliciting funds via e-mail and talking her up in media interviews.

Mark Poloncarz — Hochul and the current Erie County comptroller had been quietly vying for the Democratic nomination to run against Erie County Executive Chris Collins this year, and with Hochul now in Congress, Poloncarz should have an ally in his efforts as opposed to a potentially divisive primary.

Sheldon Silver — Assemblyman Mark Schroeder may well run for Erie County comptroller, getting him out of Silver’s hair. Schroeder has long been a gadfly in the chamber. One Assembly source joked Silver would personally max out to his comptroller campaign. (My mistake: Schroeder is hoping to run for Buffalo City Comptroller.)

All the Republicans who didn’t run — This includes Sen. George Maziarz, Assemblyman Jim Hayes and Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks. Now they could get a shot at Hochul in 2012, with new district lines and a potentially unpopular president atop the ballot.

Losers:

Chris Collins — As Bob McCarthy has traced out, Collins’ political aides were running the Corwin campaign. Collins himself was Corwin’s shepherd in her run for the Assembly, and the two are neighbors.

Michael Hook — Already I’ve heard grumbling about Hook, a Washington-based political consultant who worked for Corwin. Most Republicans thought this should have been an easy win, but that Corwin did not define herself aggressively and waited too long to go after Davis.

Nick Langworthy — The Erie County Republican chair was riding high after Carl Paladino won the Republican primary, but this is a major defeat. He had been one of Corwin’s most prolific surrogates.

Rep. Paul Ryan — Democrats are spinning this, successfully, as a referendum on the Wisconsin Republican’s budget plans and its proposed changes to Medicare. Quite a blow.

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